Just Arrived, 6/29/10

Posted on June 29, 2010    Posted by John Scalzi      5 Comments

Speaking of the “Just Arrived” feature, I am totally behind on it, because a) first I was traveling, b) then I was catching up on work from travel and then c) I got distracted by shiny bits of foil. So the next couple of days will constitute catching up. Here’s the first installment.

* Ancestor, by Scott Sigler (Crown): The Internet’s own podcasting superstar Sigler is back, and this time he’s got a doozy: The good news is that they’ve bio-engineered a creature whose organs can be put into people without rejection issues. The bad news: those creatures are mean. Oh, science. You mean so well. Out as of last week.

*This is Where We Live, by Janelle Brown (Spiegel & Grau): A young, hip, creative couple buy their first house together — in LA! With an adjustable rate mortgage! — and then life jabs them right in the nerve bundles. As it will. Especially when you have an adjustable rate mortgage. Those things are death, man. Out now.

* The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris, by Leïla Marouane (Europa Editions): A Muslim man in Paris struggles to find his identity; as suggested in the title, some of that will involve sex. Marouane herself is an Algerian living in Paris; this is the first English translation of the work. Out now.

* A Kind of Intimacy, by Jenn Ashworth (Europa Editions): A woman with a mysterious and distinctly messy past tries to start a new life and then immediately starts to complicate it. Out this last week.

* The Crowded Shadows, by Celine Kiernan (Orbit): The sequel to The Poison Throne has the Lady Wynter Moorehawake attempting to heal the rift between the ruler of her land, and his legitimate heir, before their enemies strike. Out on Thursday.

* Kill the Dead, by Richard Kadrey (Eos): Fans of Kadrey’s Sandman Slim will be happy to know this follow up is coming, in which the series anti-hero Stark gets a new gig as Lucifer’s bodyguard. Yes, yes. I’ll say it before you can: Work is Hell. Thank you for that. This one is coming in October, so plenty of time to get ready.

* The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (Harper): A biological agent threatens to turn everyone everywhere into vampires, and not the sexy, True Blood kind, but the icky, nasty sort. This is the paperback release of the book, which has already been a New York Times best seller in hardcover. It’s out today.

* Red Hood’s Revenge, by Jim C. Hines (DAW): The third installment of my pal Jim’s Locus Best Selling “Princess” series, in which “Little Red Riding Hood” is neither little nor particularly innocent: now she’s an assassin, planning to kill Sleeping Beauty. Excellent. This one comes out July 6th, but if you just can’t wait, here’s a link to the pdf of the first two chapters.

* Land of the Burning Sands, by Rachel Neumeier (Orbit): In the followup book to Lord of the Changing Winds, the griffins who were used for nefarious purposes in the book find themselves in a position of power, which means danger for everyone else. Because, griffins, man. You don’t mess with them. Out now.